THOMASVILLE – It looked like it would be a rough afternoon for the Thomas County Central Lady Jackets mid-way through their matchup with cross-town rival Thomasville on Saturday. The pair met at Thomas County Central with the Lady Jackets coming in with a record of 2-2 and the Lady Bulldogs still looking for their first win.

It looked as if Thomasville would secure that first victory after the first half. The Lady Bulldogs went into halftime up 26-13, having held Central to seven points or less in the first two quarters. 

“I walked in and I looked at them and I said, ‘Ladies I have one question for y’all. What do y’all want coach to do for you right now?” said head coach Stacy Masten about halftime in the TCC locker room. “I said, ‘Y’all have to make your minds up.’ One of them said, ‘Nothing, coach. We have to fix this.’ I said, ‘ok, then. Let’s fix it.’”

Thomas County Central was not done and came out of the gate firing in the second half.

Behind some great shooting and solid defense, the Lady Jackets came storming back, outscoring Thomasville 23-8 in the third quarter and taking an outright two-point lead heading into the final frame.

Central’s dominance continued in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Lady Bulldogs 18-8 and took home the 54-42 come-from-behind victory. The Central offense was cooking in the second half. They had three players, Jaida Pinkins, Jaden Crews, and Chan Dunbar, finish the game will double-digit points. Crews led the way for the Lady Jackets with 14 points and Pinkins shot a remarkable 71% from the field, knocking down a pair of threes. 

“She (Jaida Pinkins) is really the only kid that has ever played in that game, “ Masten said. “And she came out in that third quarter and made some plays for us and that was the biggest part of it.”

Central drained six three-pointers in total. Jaida Rice led the Lady Jackets with nine rebounds.

Crews was getting it done in every facet of the game. She came down with six rebounds, racked up six assists, and led the way on defense with 10 steals in the game. 

“I was just proud of my girls,” said Masten. “The way they fought back and battled back. When you have a young team like that sometimes they can just shut down when they get down like that.”

The Lady Bulldogs were not without their success in the game. Jayla Brooks and Harmony Bryant combined for 19 points and Thomasville as a team had 18 steals in the game.

Thomas County Central will be back in action against Cairo on December 13 at home, while Thomasville will continue to search for their first win against Bainbridge on December 14. Central and Thomasville will meet again later this month on December 17 at Thomasville.